Emmanuel Wanyonyi etched his name deeper into athletics history after storming to gold in the men’s 800m at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, setting a stunning championship record of 1:41.86. The 21-year-old Kenyan, already the reigning Olympic champion, delivered a front-running masterclass that saw him outpace Algeria’s Djamel Sedjati and Canada’s Marco Arop in a thrilling final.
The victory marked his second consecutive global title and firmly cemented his status as the natural heir to his mentor, David Rudisha. The result mirrored the Paris 2024 Olympic Games podium, with Wanyonyi once again edging out Arop and Sedjati in a near-identical finish.
Speaking after the race, Wanyonyi revealed the inspiration behind his bold race plan came from a late-night pep talk with Rudisha. The world record holder urged him to believe in himself and adopt an aggressive front-running strategy. Motivated by that conversation, Wanyonyi surged from the gun, dictating the pace and refusing to relinquish the lead.
“I decided to run a fast race,” Wanyonyi explained. “I pushed hard in the first 700 metres and then lifted again in the final stretch. Arop tried to challenge early, but I held on, and in the last 100m I gave it everything.”
The triumph was particularly special for Wanyonyi, who has built a strong rivalry with Marco Arop. The Canadian denied him gold at the 2023 World Championships in Budapest, forcing him to settle for silver. Since then, Wanyonyi has grown in maturity and tactical awareness, beating Arop at the 2024 Olympics and now again on the world stage in Tokyo.
Reflecting on his journey, Wanyonyi admitted that the Budapest loss taught him valuable lessons. “I had everything then—youth, strength, form—but he beat me with experience. I knew I had to learn and improve. Each race since has been about building that experience,” he said.
With this latest victory, Wanyonyi now stands as the second-fastest man ever in the 800m, only behind Rudisha. His record-breaking performance confirms his place as the future of middle-distance running, and with Rudisha cheering from the stands, it felt like a symbolic passing of the torch.
For Kenya, the night was historic. Its athletes swept distance events, underlining the nation’s supremacy in middle-distance dominance and capping off one of the most memorable nights in championship history.
